<div><em>Quirk. Kitsch. Pazaaz. These are the three words which define a fragment of the sensibilities and the personality of Indian's urban youth - a group who, while being immensely aspirational and ambitious, know how to not take themselves too seriously. BW Businessworld's <strong>Simar Singh</strong> explores some lifestyle brands in the country that cater to this segment:</em></div><div> </div><div><strong>Mad(e) in India</strong></div><div>The wordplay on the term 'Made in India' perfectly captures the very essence of this brand. Mad(e) in India was launched in January 2013 by Pankaj Acharya, who describes the lifestyle brand as one that "celebrates the quirks, colours, spirit and mysticism of India and its people".</div><div> </div><div>Inherently vivid, while creating the products, storytelling takes centerstage. According to Acharya, since their launch, the company has seen a 100 per cent growth rate. Last year the company raked in Rs 2.65 crores and is targeting Rs 5.25 crore this year. The entire venture has been self-funded till date with a total of Rs 3.25 crore being put in.</div><div> </div><div>The brand works on a hybrid model that combines e-tailing with a brick and mortar presence. Mad(e) in India currently has three stores and 19 multi-brand outlets. Acharya adds, "Going forward we will be adopting the franchising route to expand our offline footprint."</div><div> </div><div>The products are designed by a six-member in-house design team and manufactured by contract vendors under the brand.</div><div> </div><div>"We have also forayed into the Singapore Market, where we have an in-store presence at India Heritage Centre and our products are available in almost all the major international airports through various outlets," says Acharya.</div><div> </div><div>"We have recently forayed into corporate gifting segment too and that's a fast growing vertical for us. The dream is to make it a 100 crore brand in next 3 years."</div><div> </div><div>When asked about what differentiates the brand, Acharya says, "We are not only kitschy and quirky. Each of our designs is unique and we have a structured approach to design towards story telling. Our designs and products are strategically approached to appeal to a wider section of society, from age group 15 to 60 years."</div><div> </div><div>What's next? The brand adds new categories to its offerings every quarter and will be adding the t-shirts, vases, personal accessories, and wall arts in coming quarter and targets to open around 20 more outlets and one flagship store within the next three years.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Happily Unmarried</strong></div><div>One of the older kids on the block, Happily Unmarried was started in 2003 by Rajat Tuli and Rahul Anand, who then fresh out of B-school had trouble finding accommodation and things to do up their home.</div><div> </div><div>Frustrated, the duo settled on the name "Happily Unmarried" and decided to start a service that would help people in similar situations.</div><div> </div><div>"That time we were not very clear about what all would we do. So a name had to be such that it would let us do anything. Happily Unmarried worked beautifully, we started by providing accommodation and furniture on hire but that failed miserably. Simultaneously we also started designing products which had a desi cool vibe. No one was doing anything like that, so the response was good", says Tuli.</div><div> </div><div>Fun, puns and many head-turning products later, the brand today has has 85 employees, an in-house design team of 12 people and a presence in all major cities in the country.</div><div> </div><div>Of course it doesn't end here. "We keep coming out with new products all the time. We have a online presence which is growing at a really fast pace, so the immediate focus is to make that better. We have recently set up a fully-fledged tech team to take care of that", Tuli says, elaborating on what the company has on its plate at the moment.</div><div> </div><div>The two-pronged growth strategy is to be seen through increasing its online presence via its website and physical presence through franchising and multi-brand outlets. When asked about the brand's marketing strategy, he simply replied that it was making their customers happy.</div><div> </div><div>What's next? The company is launching a range of grooming products for men, something that, Tuli admits, they are very excited about. "One needs to keep innovating and coming out with new things to keep the customers excited. That is our strategy", he adds.</div><div> </div><div><strong>PropShop24</strong></div><div>Over a session of Suits on a Sunday afternoon in March 2012, three friends, tired of the drudgery of their daily routines started brainstorming for possible business ideas and two days later, the idea PropShop24 was born, a one stop shop for a selection of curated gifting products from around the world. And in December that year the idea became a reality.</div><div> </div><div>Sourcing products from the USA, Thailand, Hong Kong and Israel which cover categories spanning home, office, personal, gadgets, bar and party, and fashion accessories.</div><div>According to one of the co-founders, Amtosh Singh, the focus remains on design and quality, placing test orders before getting into distribution agreements and getting bulk shipments.</div><div> </div><div>"In 2014, we also launched our in-house design brand. Our brand now includes all kinds of stationery such as notebooks, planners, folders as well as other fashion and lifestyle products such as sunglasses, laptop sleeves, coffee mugs, make up pouches etc", says Singh.</div><div> </div><div>The company has been growing fast since its launch and Singh says that the growth can be solely attributed to the multiplication of their initial capital investment.</div><div> </div><div>While professing their love for the online space the company realises the need to cater to the consumer who is more comfortable physically examining a product before purchasing it.</div><div> </div><div>"Our new office is going to be unique, combining retail space with workspace. We have a showroom being built within the office space. Customers can walk in, have a cup of coffee with us, buy a few products and walk out. This give us the chance to interact with our customers on a face to face level as well as hopefully build loyalty and trust for the brand PropShop24 in the long run", says Singh.</div><div> </div><div>"Our tagline is 'curators of cool' and we try to stay as true to it as possible and we intend to continue to do that even as we expand", adds Singh.</div><div> </div><div>What's Next? The creation of the company's office-cum-retail space.</div><div> </div><div><strong>PlayClan</strong></div><div>With the simple idea of "making mundane magical", Himanshu Dogra started PlayClan in 2008, a brand inspired by "everyday observations and local culture". "Our designs are a fusion of graphics and craft, narrating stories through artistry in fashion, home, accessories and gifts", says Dogra.</div><div> </div><div>None of the items sold are sourced and all the designs are created in-house, produced in their own facilities for quality control and all of their eight the stores are self run.</div><div> </div><div>"Since the objective is to enjoy and have fun with the creative process, we called it Play and all the hands that the design passes thought is the Clan. Once we find a theme or a story that we would like to play with, we research and detail out mood-boards that are then the starting point of our artworks. They go through printing, hand embroidery, construction and weaving before they are finally sold from our stores", says Dogra, explaining the brand's ethos.</div><div> </div><div>The interesting thing is that the brand does not use any images or pictures in their designs at all. There is an attempt to reinterpret every theme which is then redrawn in a unique style that best complements the craft technique that is chosen.</div><div> </div><div>"We also supply our collection to museum stores and galleries internationally and have we have been doing exclusive collaborations with various brands and corporates to offer a customised design solution," says Dogra, naming Luxor, Mehrangarh Museum and Gwalior Museum as a few of their clients.</div><div> </div><div>What's next? The brand will be launching it's exclusive store in Kolkata this month.</div>
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